In many countries, ownership of guns is controlled and regulated by government laws. Under strict gun control, private citizens can only own toy guns.
Most toy guns currently available that shoot toy bullets use either compressed gas cylinders or powerful springs to shoot the toy bullets.
Such a toy gun is shown in Arms Magazine, Vol. 12, pp. 33, 2007, and uses a powerful spring to shoot bullets. The toy gun comprises a motor, a housing, a gear assembly and a piston assembly.
The gear assembly is mounted in the housing and is connected to and rotated by the motor.
The piston assembly is mounted in the housing, is connected to the gear assembly and comprises a piston sleeve, a piston rod and a powerful spring.
The piston sleeve is hollow, has an inner chamber and is mounted securely in the housing. The inner chamber is filled with air.
The piston rod is mounted slidably in the piston sleeve, is connected to and driven by the gear assembly, compresses air in the piston sleeve and has two ends and grooves. The air compressed in piston sleeve propels toy bullets from the housing. The grooves connect to and drive the gear assembly.
The powerful spring is mounted at one end of the piston rod.
However, a real gun has a bolt moving back and forth when the gun is fired. Furthermore, motion associated with the bolt is clearly visible. This does not happen in toy guns because the piston rod of the toy gun slides inside the piston sleeve and is hidden from view. Accordingly, toy guns are not realistic enough to satisfy serious collectors.